Guest Blog Post - Therese Chynoweth

I asked
Therese to tell us a little about how she came up with the idea for Cornucopia
and to take us through her process.

Cornucopia –
by Therese Chynoweth

Cornucopiais a shrug that I've wanted to design for a
while. Knit in Fresco, this shrug is simple,
elegant and ethereal. Although it took some time to work out the details, I'm
definitely pleased with the result.

Most
shrugs are worked in one piece, either from side-to-side, or from the bottom
up. Others are worked flat like a large scarf, and then seamed at the underarms.
Another construction method is worked from cuff-to-cuff.

Although
the latter is my favorite shrug construction, something has always bothered me
about it. While being easy to work and has minimal finishing (always a plus in
my book), this method of construction never seems to fit quite right. Usually
it’s too tight in the front at the shoulders and under the arms.

I
started thinking about the best way to solve this fit problem. I decided to try
working each sleeve separately to the armhole and put on holders. I then worked
the back of the shrug. Then I joined the three pieces together and worked the
balance of the piece, shaping it like a raglan sweater.

I
kept the front edges of the sleeves straight to retain the look of a usual
shrug but tapered the back slightly below the armholes to maintain a clean fit
across the back and shoulders. There's no saggy bag at the lower back, either.

I
wanted to use a lace stitch pattern that would be easy to work while at the
same time would accommodate the decreases of the raglan shaping on the back. The
Fern Lace was my first choice – it's pretty, feminine and easy to memorize. I added a narrow faggoting panel and twist
stitch between halves of the lace for a little extra interest. The undulating
bottom edge was one of the features that drew me to the pattern.

The
sleeves are worked straight up from the cast-on, creating a loose, flowing
look, in keeping with look of the side-to-side shrug. I designed Cornucopiawith extra-long sleeves, but I think
this shrug would also be adorable with ¾-length sleeves (just knit a few less
repeats of the lace pattern).

I
wanted the back of the shrug to have a simple feel to it, but didn’t want it to
be completely plain. So I added one repeat of the Fern Lace pattern to tie the
sections together. It also adds the undulating edge to the back.

I
decided to do just a few rows of 1 x 1 rib with eyelets along the edges of Cornucopiato ensure the edges didn’t roll. I
wanted to be careful not to overwhelm the piece with too much edging.

This
lacey shrug is really an elegant piece with a feminine look. It is easily
customizable by shortening the sleeves or changing colors and is simple to
finish with no seams. It's a shrug that will look great on just about any body
shape. Can't get much better than that!